The Innocent Prince
by Nixa Jane
Summary: Elladan and Elrohir are sure Legolas is out to get them. Aragorn just thinks it's funny.


_  
Note: I started this intending to make it a larger story, but I've decided to keep it as a short one-shot instead._

"This is awful!" Elladan exclaimed.

Elrohir nodded in agreement. "We should leave at once. We can not be here when he arrives."

Aragorn watched them with disbelief. "But I thought you liked him!" he cried. "You've told me many stories of your adventures together, and you said he was the best friend either of you have ever had."

Elladan and Elrohir shared a look.

"Yes," Elrohir said. "That is true but--"

"But he's a maniac!" Elladan finished. "And he's got everyone in all Rivendell wrapped around his little finger!"

"A maniac?" Aragorn repeated dubiously. "This is Legolas we speak of, is it not? The one you tell many stories of how he has rescued you in the knick of time? The one Elrond suggests you act more like every time you pull some silly prank?"

"Exactly," Elladan said with narrowed eyes. "And we've rescued him too," he added when he realized that had been left from Aragorn's descriptions of the stories. "That's just it. Don't you get it?"

Aragorn raised an eyebrow and adopted an expression of someone who most assuredly did not 'get it.'

Elrohir sighed. "Don't waste time, brother. Legolas has gotten to Aragorn already--and he hasn't even met him. We're on our own when it comes to him--as it always is."

"Gotten to me?" Aragorn asked in confusion.

Elrohir nodded. "Yes, yes. You're defending him--but don't you see that's what i _he /i _ wants? He has it all planned. He's a devious little genius, that one. I'll give him credit there."

Elladan nodded. "Perhaps we can still show Aragorn the truth. Maybe we should tell the stories we usually keep to ourselves."

"Why do you keep them to yourselves?" Aragorn asked warily.

"Because no one would believe it of the sweet little prince!" Elrohir said indignantly. "They think we make these things up, but we don't!"

Aragorn crossed his arms. "Okay. This I have to hear."

"It all started on his first visit," Elrohir began, his eyes narrowing at the memory. "He wandered in looking all innocent--"

Elladan coughed here, and shot his brother a look. "In the interests of keeping to the facts," he interrupted, "I feel obligated to point out Legolas was only eight at the time."

Aragorn rolled his eyes and Elrohir sputtered indignantly. "Whose side are you on?"

"Yours as always, brother," Elladan said soothingly. "But if we wish to make Aragorn understand we cannot mislead him by exaggeration."

"I'm not exaggerating! That wood-elf is a menace." Elrohir's eyes narrowed once more, and Aragorn had to hide a grin.

"Always has been," Elrohir continued. "He's been out to get us from the start."

"You mean when he was eight?" Aragorn queried innocently.

"Just listen," Elrohir demanded, and Elladan nodded in support of his brother. "King Thranduil was there to see Adar, I forget exactly why but that's besides the point anyway--we were asked to watch Legolas."

Elladan winced. "He was so small and angelic--we had no idea."

"The minute his adar and ours was out of sight," Elrohir said. "He challenged us to an archery contest."

"We mistakenly thought this was cute," Elladan said in disgust.

When neither continued, Aragorn raised his eyebrow. "And…? What happened?"

"He won!" Elrohir cried angrily.

Aragorn snorted with ill-suppressed laughter. "You LOST? To an eight year old?"

The twins looked decidedly un-amused. "Only because he distracted us!" Elladan said in their defense. "He was very good for his age," he admitted reluctantly. "But we could have easily out shot him."

"But you didn't…?" Aragorn asked.

"No," Elrohir said tensely. "Because every time either of us was about to loose an arrow he would start to sing."

"At the top of his lungs," Elladan put in. "And purposely off key."

"When Arwen came to watch us she thought his singing was the cutest thing she'd ever seen."

"Luckily, she also thought we were nicer than we are and had let him win."

"And that was the start," Elrohir said.

Aragorn looked at them both for a moment, and then broke into helpless laughter. "If you want to convince me that this Legolas is a menace," he said between laughs. "You'll have to do better than that."

"Tell him about the diving contest, Elrohir," Elladan prompted.

Elrohir nodded. "Yes, yes. I'd forgotten about that. That was the time Legolas almost got us killed."

Aragorn raised his eyebrow again, and Elrohir watched with irritation. He did that just one more time, and he was going to shave that eyebrow off the next time Aragorn went to sleep.

"He nearly got you killed? And how old was he at this point? Ten?"

"Twelve," Elladan corrected.

Aragorn hid a smile behind his hand.

"He was here that time with his brother, Malrien."

"Malrien?" Aragorn said in interest. He had heard little of Legolas's older bother. Truthfully, when he had heard any of the elves speaking of Mirkwood or the wood-elves, Thranduil or Legolas usually managed to be the focus. Malrien was known only for being purposely secretive.

"He's very serious," Elladan said with a frown. "He doesn't like us much."

Aragorn leaned back in his chair with an air of affected innocence. "I can't imagine why not."

The sarcasm was lost on the twins, who nodded eagerly at his support.

"He thought that we were to blame for what happened to Legolas," Elrohir said. "But really, it was all Legolas's fault."

"He was hurt? I thought you said it was Legolas who nearly got you killed?" Aragorn asked.

"He did," Elladan said. "But he was really the only one to actually get hurt."

"He does that a lot," Elrohir said with a tinge of suspicion. "He does it on purpose."

"He gets hurt on purpose?" Aragorn asked them dubiously.

Elrohir nodded. "Because it makes us look bad."

"And that doesn't strike you as the least bit extreme?" Aragorn asked reasonably. "Has it occurred to either of you, at all, that perhaps you are the ones with the mistaken impression of Legolas? To listen to you, you would think he has planned his whole life around getting to you."

"Now you're getting it!" Elrohir cried in triumph. "That's exactly it. That's exactly what he's done."

"You two are far more paranoid than I have given you credit for," Aragorn said in disbelief.

"You'll understand soon enough," Elladan said warningly. "Once you meet him, you'll realize the truth."

"Either that," Elrohir said. "Or you'll become another of his pawns."

"Weren't you going to tell me how it was he almost got you killed?" Aragorn asked impatiently.

"He dared us to dive from the top of the waterfall!" Elrohir snapped. "Elladan and I almost didn't survive, and Legolas broke his arm."

"You let a twelve year old jump off that waterfall?" Aragorn asked disbelievingly, motioning to the giant fall of water behind him.

"It was his idea," Elladan said in their defense. "And I would remind you that we could not have stopped him--he is very determined. And we jumped after him."

"How very kind of you," Aragorn observed. "And while your life was flashing before your eyes, and you surfaced apparently unharmed--did you at least help the child with a broken arm to shore?"

Elladan shared a look with Elrohir. "He sounds like Arwen," he whispered.

"Must be all that time he spends with her," Elrohir nodded.

A soft sigh from behind them sent the twins whirling around. Arwen stood leaning on the wall behind them. She ignored them and gave Aragorn a sympathetic look. "Are my brothers annoying you again?"

Aragorn grinned at her appearance and got to his feet. "Don't worry, Arwen. If they get too out of hand I simply tune them out."

Elladan and Elrohir crossed their arms and rolled their eyes at that.

"They should not tease you so," Arwen said, sending a quelling glance at the twins.

"They were just telling me stories of Legolas," Aragorn told her.

Arwen brightened. "I can not wait until he arrives. You'll like him very much, Aragorn."

Aragorn smiled over at the seething twins. "I think you're right. I think I shall like him very much, indeed."


End file.
